Weeklybeats is a 52 week long music project in which artists compose and publicly release 1 song a week for the entire year.
Starting January 1st 2024 GMT each participant will have one week to upload one finished composition. Any style of music or selection of instruments are welcomed and encouraged. Sign up or Login to get started or check our FAQ for any help or questions you may have.

Quiet Mind

By ViridianLoom on January 7, 2024 6:59 am

› Lyrics

Hey everyone! Time for another year of this, haha. This will be my third time, which I can’t believe I’m doing, but it’s been incredibly rewarding. Looking forward to seeing new and familiar faces alike. Anyways, a bit about this track.

Admittedly, I’ve been a bit irritable and anxious the past few weeks thinking about the kind of song I'd be submitting for the first week. In 2020 I set the bar for myself really low with some complete garbage (just facts) and then in 2022 I somehow managed to create a prog metal epic that I was extremely proud of that set the quality of my music for a majority of the year. So naturally, the idea of setting the bar even higher has taken up a lot of real estate in my mind. However, I’ve come to realize that’s a path leading to an inevitable dead-end of frustration and unhappiness. It’s not realistic to try to write a song that’s “better”, just different. A totally different style of song setting out to do it’s own thing can be equally satisfying. Not to mention that actual act of writing music should bring you enjoyment, not just the end product you desire.

So after a lot of improvising, this particular idea resonated with me. Two main chords, back and forth, with a simple beat and bassline. Pretty much as straight forward as it gets for me. I wanted to try to squeeze as much creative energy into this single idea at the risk of it possibly being too repetitive, so I incorporated a lot of dynamics, layers, and melodies with the hope that the moment to moment progression of the song holds the listener’s attention. That said, I did slide in some of that 7/8 bullshit in at the end. What can I say? It just felt soooo right.

All and all, I’m pretty happy with the result. It’s chill and sits comfortably in this space between “slacker rock” and jazz-fusion. I’m going to refrain from nitpicking the things I don’t like about my songs because the things that seem to bother me don’t really seem to be noticed by anyone else. I’ve been overly critical of myself in the past in these song descriptions, so I’m going to consciously avoid doing that. However, YOU should feel free to let me know what could use improving. Especially because you might point something I didn’t consider. Just don’t, like, be a meanie about it. heart

› Goals for WB2024

Gorgeous chord progression, and beautiful guitar playing! Great to hear your sound again. I’m excited to hear how it evolves this year!

And that outro is just beautiful. Definitely a new favorite for me!

Indie film vibes. I agree the outro is great!

Damn, what a beautiful tune smile

The thing I love about this is that it sounds simple because it's just a couple chords, but the beat is complex, and you have a lot of freedom within that framework to do lots of tasty stuff on top. And you took full advantage. Really awesome vibes. The guitar arpeggios are tasteful. The lead-in to the mid-section around 1:20 is super tasty. Groovy bass throughout. Enveloping space you've created with the reverbs. So much good!

Really strong start to the year. Keep it up!

The vocals sound great! Digging the complexity in the rhythm as well. This is beautiful.

Solid!

Love that you sing on the track too, will try to sing too on multiple tracks this year too. Beautiful guitars , fun time signature, love the rhodes, jazzy!

oh my god, this is perfect. love how your voice fits with the chillwave math rock style. the drum dynamics are spot on, love the chords. the wurly solo into that absolutely gorgeous ending was 100% chef's kiss. unreal stuff, well done!

Solo at 1:56 is tasty as hell. Excellent tone. Very cool vibe all around

Glad to see you back in 2024! I have always your tracks and the amount of tasteful guitar playing and complex song writing has always been an inspiration!

Great sound choice on the guitar that does the arpeggiated chord. This glassy sound with the slight delay creates a great sonic enviornment. I like the singing, i think it works very well and is mixed very appropriately.

Some wow moments for me in this track:
The line that is from 1:26 to 1:34 gave me goosebump
That solo starting at 2:00 is sooo tasty. Sparse with a great choice of notes.
The way the track opens at 3:02 with the strings, after the simple drum buildup - that was really well done and felt like the track got a second breath there.

Looking forward to more of your tracks this year! I liked reading your goals for this year! Best of luck!

WB2WB! great to hear your stuff again! It's so exciting to hear everyone's stuff especially knowing how freshly made it is.

I like the tasteful chill beats supporting the melody and solos! Cool guitar solo! Great wurli sounds and nice playing! actually all the instruments have a really pleasant and balanced sound. Silky smooth strings near the end, love the drop to 7/8 big_smile

Your voice sounds very good in this one! Def in support of your goals to sing more, I think voice makes a track stand out more, tho I often listen to instrumental music or music in a language I don't understand because I don't want it to stand out if I'm working or whatnot. But for listening with intention, it's hard to compete with the human voice. In this case I like that it's a chill kinda singing, but if you really want the tears to roll you gotta put in a bit more diaphragm. I think both are valid, but if I'm honest, I tend to do the chill singing or even just speaking, because it's hard to get comfortable singing esp. when the song is not already a clearly defined composition by someone else.

Final note, I like how the lyrics are nice and abstract altho they are pretty much about weeklybeats hahah

quick note on a third listen: the transitions are always the toughest. end of wurli solo made me think of this - it's not bad, but it does feel a bit like it's stalling because the solo is already over but you need 2 more bars to get to the next section hehhe. it's worth it with that drop tho!

nice!

im so in love with heavy chorused- guitars, so maybe im too biased here, but I really liked this track. the vocals are beautiful - a and they fit well together in the mix, moreover I think the 7/8 works well here since it adds tension to the track! a very good job!

this is heavenly, so many well layered sounds. well done!!

horatiuromantic wrote:

quick note on a third listen: the transitions are always the toughest. end of wurli solo made me think of this - it's not bad, but it does feel a bit like it's stalling because the solo is already over but you need 2 more bars to get to the next section hehhe. it's worth it with that drop tho!

I appreciate the feedback! Honestly, I had contemplated taking the whole double solo section and shortening it by half, giving each instrument half the time for soloing. I figured that it felt like it would go on for too long and "Stalling" perfectly describes the issue I was feeling. I'll definitely keep your feedback in mind for when I add another solo to a song in the future, so that it feels like every moment is more intentional.

Non Est wrote:

im so in love with heavy chorused- guitars, so maybe im too biased here, but I really liked this track. the vocals are beautiful - a and they fit well together in the mix, moreover I think the 7/8 works well here since it adds tension to the track! a very good job!

Yeah, I got really into the chorus effect when I started listening to a lot of goth rock! It also makes for good psychedelic tones or lead guitars, super versatile.

Hey @ViridianLoom just wanted to add: I had exactly the same issue in my track this year, to decide how long should be the solo, and I approached it by playing solos and trying to measure how long I can keep it interesting, before re-recording in context together with the transition to the next section. In the end I challenged myself to do 4 "choruses" of 16 bars for each of them. it is about the same length of my vocal sections, and I kept telling myself to "lean into it" so I take my time to develop ideas and pursue them. When playing live I like not having exact number of bars or choruses, so as a band we can continue playing when someone has more to say, and stop sooner when it feels right for others.

It's an idea I will continue to explore probably for years, how to keep instrumental sections interesting for longer. I once went to a Jose James concert where Ashley Henry on piano did a solo for 4 minutes or so, I filmed the whole thing. By the end of it my arm was hurting, but I was thinking the whole time how he has so much to say in this damn solo. I am chasing that high in my own playing ever since.

Wonderful music, it's a favorite already. Many beautiful layers painting a story and I love your thoughtful atmosphere. I look forward to hearing more heart

Fantastic track. I am a big fan of your music. Thanks.

Great atmosphere. Reminds me, for some rason, Durutti Column sound. Sketch for summer has been my long time favorite, and there’s something equally satisfying in your chord progression and guitar sound.

This is a cohesive and focused indie vibe for sure!  Just enough twists and turns yet not distractingly so.  All the elements sit super neatly and cleanly in the mix too, including the vocalz, so big ups for biting the bullet and diving in with the decision to focus on that this year.

It sounds elegant and inspiring. The guitar and keyboard really make me fly. Awesome job.

Love the sense of space! And those guitar licks are so smooth! Looking forward to hear what else you come up with this year

Simple as this song is, it's still very effective. I don't mind more of this.
- Spider

really lovely! I feel a kinship with this song

I like this song! My kind of chill, love the jazzy aspects for sure, some tasty bits in there. And wow, your voice is great. I could hear more like this for sure. It was great reading your description, thanks for taking time to write that. I feel this is so true: "actual act of writing music should bring you enjoyment, not just the end product you desire." For me the creation is therapeutic, I want to escape and have fun, regardless of result conforming to a plan or meeting my goals or not. Great to set some goals though. Welp, onward in 24!

I really really like this song. The melancholy relaxing vibe is so nice to listen to. I really like the instrumentation you chose for this one. Your lead guitar sounds great and has excellent tone. I like the simplicity of the song, it really gives all the melodies space to really breathe and float in and out. I also really like the keyboard solo, it's a great way to close out the song. I also like how at the very end the energy jumps up drastically. Really sends everything off on a powerful note.

cool:)

Beautiful job on the vocals! Guitar tone is perfect for this track, and I like the tasteful synth accents. The reserved guitar solo is also a highlight. The turn it took around 3:15 made me smile, like your mind was done being quiet and had to bust out just a little. Cool, thank you.

Totally relate to the 'nitpickin' comment.  That's the beauty of WB.  After we beat ourselves up over how one or two bars sound or how the mix comes out.  You have the distinguished community of WB here to remind you of everything that's good and better than the original worry you had. That being said this was a lovely escape.  The guitars and the drums play so nicely together.  Your awesome vocals and lyrics really had a calming effect.  The ep solo *chefskiss*... Listened twice for full enjoyment.  That synth arp at the end was an excellent touch as well.

OH MY GOD

THIS IS PERFECT

your voice is so good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

wait there is a guitar solo too????

dang can we collaborate on something like this?!

i'm freaking out sorry

levelcapybara wrote:

And that outro is just beautiful. Definitely a new favorite for me!

this could be a whole new song!

I'm also setting a goal to sing in songs this year!! Your voice is great and really really matches the vibe you made here. Love the time signature situation goin on. the guitar tones are so lovely in this. and I'm an absolutely sucker for EP, hella good runs and loving the mix with instruments sitting all around the stereo field like this. And gotta echo everyone else here this outro is so damn great. Love when a song keeps giving and giving, generous with its movements like this one. Fantastic! Looking forward to more this year!

this is sick. the melodies are great, chill tones on the guitar and simplistic drums makes the song come together nicely

This takes me back to camping in the mountains on a beautiful starry night. I appreciate your comments about setting a bar for the creative pressures of taking on a year of crafting musical art. It seems daunting at first but the actual challenges are different that I thought they would be. Your production is so mature, I hope to learn and absorb but it was not even on my mind at the start of the year. I loved this.

orangedrink wrote:

OH MY GOD

THIS IS PERFECT

your voice is so good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

wait there is a guitar solo too????

dang can we collaborate on something like this?!

i'm freaking out sorry

I somehow forgot to respond to this but yeah, we should totally collab sometime this year. Keep in touch on discord wink

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